2 local men charged with criminal drug conspiracy

Wednesday

Aug 9, 2017 at 4:28 PM

Robert Connelly The Register-Mail RConnelly_

MONMOUTH — Two local men made court appearances this week on cocaine delivery charges.

John M. Waugh, 29, Lake Warren Drive in Monmouth and also of West South Street in Galesburg, and Corey A. Bellinger, 29, Lake Warren Drive but also of 135th Street in Joy, were in Warren County Circuit Court Tuesday morning for their first appearances on cocaine charges.

The two are charged with varying delivery of cocaine offenses, but the most serious is one count of Class X felony criminal drug conspiracy.

That charge alleges the two worked together between May 1 and May 9 to deliver to a confidential source between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine.

Criminal drug conspiracy carries a sentence of between six and 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and is not eligible for probation.

Both are also charged with Class X felony possession with the intent to deliver cocaine between 15 and 100 grams to a confidential source on May 9 and two felony counts of delivery of cocaine between one and 15 grams to a confidential source on May 3 and May 1.

Waugh faces another Class X felony delivery of cocaine between 15 and 100 grams to a confidential source on May 5.

Warren County State’s Attorney Andrew Doyle said the West Central Illinois Task Force performed the investigation using controlled buys in May.

"The majority of the ones we have are low level possession" cocaine cases, Doyle said.

This case is "probably one of the larger cocaine cases we've had. It's probably the biggest cocaine case because we mostly have little stuff here and especially being out of Lake Warren, which is a nice, summer community."

Doyle said this was the first time he had charged criminal drug conspiracy in his time as Warren County State's Attorney.

The charges were filed July 25 in Warren County Circuit Court along with arrest warrants at that time.

Waugh’s bail was set at $200,000, $20,000 needed to get out of jail, and Bellinger had his bail set at $150,000, $15,000 needed to get out of jail, in those documents.

Bellinger was appointed public defender Tom Siegel while Bellinger is seeking private counsel. Both men will be back in court for first appearances at 10 a.m. Aug. 15.